D U S T E D
by Bekquai
Summary: Chpt 4 UP! Merton and Tommy... with an aphrodisiac thrown in for kicks. Slash.
1. One

Author's Note: I know I've gotten down on fanfic authors who write PWPs, and I'd like to apologize profusely for writing one myself. ^^;; I couldn't help it! A plot bunny took over my brain! However, I ~tried~ to imbue this story with a minimal plot, so perhaps it won't be quite so unbearably pointless. Maybe... ^^;;  
  
...  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Big Wolf on Campus" and I am not making any money whatsoever off of this story. It's just a happy little fiction for myself and others like me to drool over, because we all love the idea of two hot guys boinking. ::leer::  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
D*U*S*T*E*D  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Freaker!" Becky shouted down the stairwell.  
  
"What?" Merton shouted back, not bothering to look up from his computer screen. He figured he'd have to vow to stay downstairs while his sister's friends were over or something similar. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Becky was so shallow.  
  
"You got a package in the mail," she said instead. He perked up.  
  
"It's finally here!" he murmured to himself before raising his voice again. "Bring it down!"  
  
"I'm not your slave! Come get it yourself," Becky replied waspishly.  
  
"Come git it yerself," Merton mocked in a nasal falsetto, too softly for Becky to hear. Childish? Who, him? Nah. Still, he got up out of his chair and trekked upstairs to retrieve his package, his spirits rising. Becky was waiting for him with it at the top of the stairs. It was medium-sized and wrapped in black paper with silver writing on it, tied with a silver cord, and Becky held it as if it would come to life and bite her arms off. Happily, he took it from his sneering sibling.  
  
"What the hell is it, anyway?" Becky asked as he turned to go back downstairs.  
  
"It's an Occult Grab-Bag I bought on E-Bay," Merton explained cheerfully. "Guaranteed to contain at least three items of esoteric interest and value or your money back! I can't wait to see if I got a cyclops's eye, because Vincent in my Gothic Fantasy Guild got one and he's been lording it over all of us at the meetings - "  
  
"Wait," Becky said, holding up a hand. "I didn't really care."  
  
Merton made a face at her and when back to his Lair. Once the door to the upstairs was safely shut, Merton put the package down on his desk and debated how to open it. He was torn between getting out his ritual knife to do the job with proper reverence and just tearing the paper off like a kid on Christmas. After a short inner struggle, he opted for the second choice, which was far more emotionally satisfying after waiting a month for it to come.  
  
Inside the black paper was a black box, which opened to reveal a mass of black packing peanuts. These he swept impatiently out of the way, digging in to find his occult treasures. His hand had just closed on something cloth-covered and kind of squashy when he heard the outside door open.  
  
"Hey, Merton!" Tommy Dawkins greeted, loping in with a six-pack of coke in one hand and a bag containing movie rentals and chips in the other. "Ready for movie-night? I brought your favorite!"  
  
"You mean you got 'Attack of the Killer Mutant Thing from Beyond the Moon?'" Merton asked, eyes getting wide and a huge grin wreathing his face. His night was going so well!  
  
"Okay, maybe not ~that~ favorite," Tommy admitted. Merton's face fell until the football-player added quickly, "But I ~did~ rent 'Mystery Science Theater 3000: the Movie.'"  
  
"Cool! But first let me take a look at what I have here," Merton said, pulling out a small brown sack that felt filled with sand. This he examined for a moment before he set it aside to search the packing peanuts for more treasure.  
  
"What's that?" Tommy asked.  
  
"An Occult Grab-Bag I ordered on E-Bay," Merton said, dropping the rest of his explanation to pull out a wooden Tiki statue. "The trinkets I get in here should keep me busy for some time. It'll be fun figuring out what all these things do."  
  
"Don't they give you instructions?" Tommy asked, picking up the sack and opening the drawstrings to peek inside.  
  
"Nope! That's the fun part. You get to do all your own research and experimentation. Isn't that cool?" Merton said, setting a crystal-inlaid ivory wand carefully on his desk.  
  
"Yeah, cool. But don't you think that with all the crap we get into that - you know - you'd be ~busy~ anyway?" Tommy wondered.  
  
"Well, yeah. But ~that's~ all in a day's work for us by now. I need something to keep my skills sharp between our little adventures, don't I?" Merton explained, taking the last item - a flat gray stone the size of a post-it note with runic carvings - and laid it next to the other strange objects.  
  
"Have you looked at this powder stuff yet?" Tommy asked, carefully tipping some into his hand. It was very pink and sparkly. "It's girly."  
  
"Tommy! Occult powders ~aren't~ girly. They aren't manly, either. They're very powerful and you shouldn't touch them if you don't know what they do. It could've absorbed straight into your skin and turned you into a frog for all you knew!" Merton scolded.  
  
"Well, it hasn't done anything yet so don't get uppity," Tommy replied, sniffing the small pile in his palm carefully.  
  
"Cut that out and put it back in the bag," Merton commanded, then noticed the strange look Tommy had on his face. The Goth felt his stomach do a flip-flop. "Oh God, what is it? Do you feel something, Tommy? Is the powder having some kind of affect on you?"  
  
"Uh - yeah - ah... it's...ah... making me - ah-," Tommy broke off, his face twisting.  
  
"What?" Merton nervously hung on Tommy's every word.  
  
"KAAACHOOOO!!"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Pink dust flew everywhere, and soon both boys were helpless with sneezing fits. Merton sneezed so hard he lost his balance and fell forward, straight into Tommy, who had no choice but to catch him. Then the pink cloud began to flow in reverse, getting sucked back into the small brown sack with a hissing sound. When the air finally cleared, Merton looked up at Tommy, intending to scold. Tommy looked down at the same moment to apologize.  
  
Their eyes locked, and a strange rippling feeling passed through both of them, as if the ground had suddenly given way beneath them. It passed too quickly for them to really register it, and if they had, they might have mistaken it for the dizziness that sometimes follows violent sneezing. The strange thing was, neither felt as if he could look away, or speak. Silence stretched a moment, then two, and the air between them filled with a strange, unfamiliar intensity. Tommy realized with a slight shiver that he could feel Merton's breath on his neck. This sensation snapped him out of it.  
  
"Sorry," he said, looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet.  
  
"Never do that again," Merton warned forcefully, seeming not to notice the slight blush on Tommy's cheeks . "Though I'm kinda pissed. I mean, sneezing powder? In an ~Occult~ Grab-Bag? That's just so... so... I got gypped!"  
  
"Sorry," Tommy apologized again.  
  
"It's not your fault," Merton sighed a little downhearted sigh, but perked up a second later. "Let's just watch the movies."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Um, Tommy? You wanna let go?"  
  
"Huh?" The football player suddenly realized he was still holding Merton. In fact, they were pressed flush against each other. He hastily let go and backed off a few paces, feeling his face redden more. "Sorry, dude."  
  
"No hard feelings," Merton said, crossing to the television and VCR, videos in hand, while Tommy went to shut off the lights. As the goth fast-forwarded through the previews and opening credits, Tommy sat on the small couch, opening the chips and a can of Coke. He watched as Merton got up an sat down next to him as the movie began to roll. For some reason, neither scooted to the corners of the couch as per usual. They sat inches from each other, close enough to feel the other's body heat. Strangely Tommy realized that it didn't bother him as much as it would have had Merton been any other guy, but he shrugged it off as an effect of having survived countless near-death encounters with the goth. After all, being comfortable with someone was all about trust, and who did Tommy trust if not Merton?  
  
Merton's train of thought was running on a similar track, so it didn't particularly bother him when Tommy's arm landed on the back of the couch behind him. Neither even noticed when this arm curled around Merton's wiry shoulders. It seemed only natural when Merton instinctively leaned into this contact. About halfway through the film, Merton's head rested on Tommy's shoulder, and Tommy had to get up to use the bathroom. As soon as he stirred, he realized the position he and Merton had somehow gotten into. Apparently so did Merton, because he glanced around and started a bit.  
  
"Um," said Tommy, feeling very awkward indeed as they hastily separated themselves. He didn't say anything else as he could tell Merton was blushing, even in the dim light. He made his way to the bathroom in the lair quickly, and after he was finished, he stayed a little longer to stare at his reflection.  
  
What the hell just happened? Both he and Merton were straight, right? So, how had they ended up cuddling on Merton's couch? Tommy ran nervous fingers through his short hair. Well, it wouldn't be so far-fetched to believe Merton was gay; after all, it was what the entire school believed regardless of the obvious proof to the contrary. Therefore, it also wasn't hard to believe that Merton could have a thing for Tommy. After all, most of the female student body worshiped him; why wouldn't a gay boy? But Merton was his friend, so he had to be careful in how he rejected him.  
  
But the thing was, he wasn't sure about the rejection part. Strange as the situation was, he hadn't exactly been disgusted or repulsed. In fact, from the automatic responses his body had made without his mind's consent it seemed that he was quite the opposite. But... this was Merton. Merton, who was a guy. A very good friend, yes, but ~just~ a ~friend.~ That was what Tommy had always thought before, anyway. His head was starting to hurt.  
  
*What the hell is going on?* he silently asked his mirror-self.  
  
He left the safe solitude of the bathroom reluctantly, and when he sat back down both he and Merton hugged separate arms of the couch, neither looking at each other. Tommy's mind was racing, and his heart sort of skipped a beat whenever he stole a glance at the other boy, who's gaze never left the television screen. Why were Tommy's palms sweating like he was on a date with Lori? He looked over at Merton again, only to meet the goth's blue eyes. Merton turned away almost immediately.  
  
"I'm going to go make some popcorn," he announced to his shoes as he stood and rushed to the stairs. Tommy opened his mouth to say he was fine with just the chips, but closed it again without speaking. It was kind of a relief to have Merton out of his sight because now he was starting to have... disturbing thoughts. About Merton. Which was wrong on so many different levels, and it was probably better not to have Merton around when he was trying to not think about what he was thinking about.  
  
Too soon, Merton wandered back downstairs, a steaming bag of popcorn in his hands. He set it down on the open cushion space between them and began munching on it. Not even Tommy's iron self-control could win out against the enticing smell, of popcorn, and he abandoned the chips in favor of the time-honored movie snack. The bag was eaten in silence, and soon Tommy was feeling through the old maids to find the last handful of popped kernels. Merton, apparently intent on the movie, automatically reached inside the bag without noticing Tommy's hand already inside.  
  
The contact of their flesh sent electric shivers up and down Tommy's spine, and he became alarmed. Okay. That was definitely ~not~ supposed to happen. Something here was very off. And the jock had a sinking idea why.  
  
"Merton," he said, and the smaller boy jumped. "Um. I think we should look up exactly what that powder is."  
  
Merton turned to blink at him slowly, as if he hadn't heard what he had expected to hear. Then he smiled in obvious relief. "Oh yeah! The powder!"  
  
The goth sprang up and turned on the lights, hurrying to his bookshelf and pulling down musty grimoires until he had a stack that was almost too tall for him to see over. Tommy went to help carry them to the desk, and then Merton got out a particularly large one that seemed to be written in Latin. Tommy hovered over Merton's shoulder, peering at the hand-written letters doubtfully. Then he realized just how close he was to Merton again, close enough not only to feel the heat but to smell the gel in the other boy's hair and his faint aftershave. And those not-right thoughts were back, stronger than before. Tommy stepped back and grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut to try and block out the images.  
  
After a few minutes of desperate page-flipping, skimming, and muttering to himself, Merton made a victorious noise. Tommy managed to win out over the improper fantasies that were starting to form in his mind, and he once again bent over Merton's shoulder.  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
"According to this book, the powder is an insidiously potent-," Merton began, then paused to swallow nervously.  
  
"A potent ~what~?" Tommy asked, temper frayed from having to beat down his hormones.  
  
"Aphrodisiac," Merton squeaked, then read hurriedly and emotionlessly through the rest of the paragraph. "It's called Eros' Revenge. Victims become enchanted if they inhale the dust and become thoroughly infatuated with the first living thing they see. The desire for the object of their affection will grow more and more intense the longer the curse goes on. There are only two cures: consummation or death."  
  
Tommy digested this with a feeling of horrified shock overcoming him. "C-consummation?" He wasn't even embarrassed at the way his voice cracked.  
  
Merton was turning an interesting color of purple. He groaned in misery as he nodded, then laid face down on the book, burying his head in his arms. Tommy staggered back a couple paces, trying to think. Consummation. Christ. The only way to get rid of the curse was to give in to it? That didn't add up. There had to be a way around it, for sake of both their sanity. He couldn't... not with ~Merton~, of all people! Why couldn't it have been Lori? Stacey? Hell, it could have been a member of the girls' field hockey team, just not Merton! They were best friends, and they weren't gay!  
  
Tommy sat down heavily on the floor. "Shit."  
  
"I ~told~ you to be careful with that powder," Merton reproached from where he was hunched over. "But noooo, why would anyone listen to me? After all, I only have been doing occult research for the last eight years of my life."  
  
There was nothing Tommy could really say to that. "Sorry."  
  
Merton just snorted. Tommy frowned and glared at the other boy's profile.  
  
"So," he said after a long silence. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"I dunno," Merton replied after a shorter pause, then sighed and shifted. He sat up, staring down at the book and running his hands through his hair. "Okay. Here's an idea. It says 'consummation of desire,' but it also says that the desire increases if we let it slide. So. Um. Right now, the, um, desire is pretty small. So to consummate the desire, we'd, um, probably only need to do something... small. Nip it in the bud, so to speak."  
  
Tommy thought this over with a frown. There was nothing really wrong with the theory, but it would still require them to... do something. Together. Something like the not-right thoughts in his head were suggesting with increasing urgency. But, he reasoned, which would he rather do: something little now, or something in the unspecified future that was too big for him to even name, much less envision himself actually doing.  
  
"Uh, yeah. That sounds like it might work," he agreed. Neither boy moved. Tommy cleared his throat. "So, um. What do we do?"  
  
"Do I have to come up with everything?" Merton snapped peevishly.  
  
"Geez, sorry," Tommy apologized insincerely. He sighed huffily, rolling his eyes. "So. I'll just. Um. K-kiss you?"  
  
Merton nodded without looking over at him. With another frown, Tommy got up on his knees and sort of scooted over to the computer chair, turning it so Merton was facing him. Merton was the color of cherries, and the football player knew that he must be reaching a similar shade, judging from the heat in his cheeks. He reached out a slightly damp and shaking hand to cup the base of Merton's skull and pull the pale boy forward.  
  
They hesitated about an inch apart, both with their eyes closed, concentrating on how this was ~not~ feeling good, that this was ~not~ something they wanted to do. It was just a way to get rid of the most embarrassing curse ever cast upon either of them. Tommy was not marveling at the texture of Merton's hair under his fingers. Merton was not leaning into the touch. Certainly neither was shivering from the sensations of heated breath on their faces and necks, and neither licked their lips in anticipation.  
  
Tommy closed the gap, unable to stand the tension. Tentatively, he kissed Merton, who kissed back just as hesitantly. Then there was a ripple of desire in both of them, the curse waking and inflaming them. The kiss deepened rapidly and soon was no longer tentative but almost bruising. Their moistened lips slid together smoothly, each tilting his head to get that exactly right angle. Merton's hands reached out to grip Tommy's hips as Tommy's in turn twined in spikes of hair.  
  
Somehow or another, Tommy's mouth opened wide enough for Merton to slide his tongue inside. The contact made Tommy gasp in guilty pleasure, accidentally stealing Merton's breath away. It also startled the jock so badly that he pulled away, breaking the kiss completely and releasing Merton's hair. For a split second, Merton's long fingers lingered on Tommy's hips before the goth jerked them back as if they were burnt. Tommy firmly squashed the pang of loss that threatened to well up.  
  
They panted for breath for a long moment, and then Tommy cleared his throat.  
  
"Well," he said, pleased with himself when his voice did not quaver, "That should do it, right?"  
  
"Hopefully. That was... unspeakably weird," Merton shifted uncomfortably.  
  
Tommy nodded dazedly, though he hadn't thought it was ~that~ weird. Of course, the fact that he didn't think it was weird was even weirder, so he held his peace. It was probably the enchantment talking, anyway. He frowned at that, because if what they'd just done had gotten rid of the enchantment, then how could it still be affecting him? Unless the kiss hadn't done anything to get rid of the curse, but Tommy didn't want to even consider that it hadn't worked. So, he was going to chalk the fact that not-right thoughts were clamoring about in his head more than ever up to residuals and move on.  
  
"So. Um. I think I'm gonna go home," he said at last, getting up and plucking his jacket from the peg on the wall where he'd hung it upon entering. He wanted a bucket of chicken and a good night's sleep so he could pretend in the morning that this never happened.  
  
"Right. See you later," Merton said as Tommy hastily left. He waited until the tall jock had shut the door firmly behind him, then collapsed onto his desk once again. "Fuck."  
  
He frowned. Even that strongest of swear words was not even enough to express the dismay he felt. He could recognize the fire that pulsed through him as magic-induced. The spell was not broken, only momentarily sated. He had to find a different cure and ~fast~. In a few days he was supposed to meet a girl he'd met online, and he felt he wouldn't make the best impression if he and Tommy were dry humping on his couch when she arrived.  
  
Oh God, ~that~ was a mental image he really didn't need.  
  
He groaned, banging his head against the desk before he got up to get a few more books for research. He'd stay up all night if he had to, but he was going to get rid of this curse once and for all - ~without~ giving in to it - if it was the last thing he did.  
TBC...  
Well, that was fun. Review, please? 


	2. Two

Merton was nearly late the next morning, staggering into the classroom a few seconds before the bell rang. He managed to shuffle to his desk and collapse in it gracelessly. His all-night research session had not only drained him of usual his energy, it had also yielded nothing by way of a cure. He had, of course, found almost every romance Eros's Revenge had induced, and none of them ended happily. Most of the victims went mad before their goal of consummation was realized, or they committed suicide rather than try to live with the curse. It hadn't really done much for his morale.  
  
In the seat next to him, Tommy looked just as haggard, though for different reasons. He'd been plagued by... disturbing dreams, most of which involved Merton, a leash, and a collar. After waking up from these, he hadn't dared go back to sleep. He knew he was going to have to talk to Merton soon, because he knew he'd never have dreams like this if the curse had been lifted. But what if ~Merton~ had been cured? What if the dust affected werewolves permanently? The jock managed to refrain from whimpering at the thought.  
  
Lori, sitting on Tommy's other side, stared at her two friends and instantly knew something was up. She frowned. Had some random monster attacked last night? It figured that the one time she missed movie night - she'd had to go to her aunt's birthday party with her parents - would be the time something fun happened.  
  
As the teacher began explaining the homework assignment, Lori scribbled a note and handed it slyly to Tommy. The tall boy looked a bit startled, seeing as how she hadn't given him a note since they'd been dating.  
  
"Okay, spill it," Lori's neat, bubbly letters began. "What happened last night?"  
  
The simple question was enough to throw Tommy into a panic. Was it that obvious? Did he have "I Made Out With Merton" tattooed on his forehead? Had he really been checking out his friend that blatantly? He thought he'd been pretty subtle. But even if Lori ~had~ noticed, there was no way he would admit it. He tried to calm down enough to think of a plausible lie. After a few seconds, he gave up. He was never very good at lying under pressure.  
  
"Merton could explain it better," he wrote and handed the note back to Lori when the teacher turned to write something on the blackboard.  
  
"Well then, give this to Merton instead of me," came the impatient response.  
  
Tommy obediently poked Merton in the shoulder to get the goth's attention, then handed him the paper to read. His blue eyes scanned it, then glanced at Tommy and Lori, who were both watching him. Lori had that "Tell the truth or I'll hurt you" look in her eyes, but Tommy's pleading expression said all Merton needed to know. Tommy didn't want Lori to know, and that he could certainly understand. After all, having the hots for one's best friend generally didn't help score get-back-together points with one's ex-girlfriend.   
  
"We were interrupted by a poltergeist," he wrote glibly. "It totally trashed the Lair, but we got rid of it eventually. Then we spent the rest of the night cleaning up."  
  
Tommy held back a sigh of relief when he read it. It was a perfect explanation of why both of them were zombies today. Lori pouted. She always missed the fun supernatural experiences, but she was always there for the routine capture-the-virgin-for-human-sacrifice ones. And, much to her annoyance, was usually the virgin in question. It infuriated her to know that she'd gotten farther than both her friends - Tommy had told her so, and you only had to ~look~ at Merton to know that boy was more a virgin than Mary - but demons always picked the ~girl~ virgin to sacrifice. It was ridiculously sexist.  
  
The morning passed slowly, each one of the trio brooding. It was a good thing that Lori was now preoccupied with the supposed poltergeist, though, because now she was definitely not paying much attention to the way Tommy and Merton kept glancing at each other and blushing six shades of red. Tommy was oddly reassured by the blushing, though, because he took it to mean that he was not the only one still cursed.  
  
Finally the lunch bell rang, and the threesome started towards the cafeteria.  
  
"So, what exactly was this poltergeist like?" Lori demanded. If she wasn't going to get to be there, then she'd just squeeze all the details from them this way.  
  
Before the boys could respond, though, the PA system gave a buzz and announced, "Lori Baxter, please report to the office. You have a phone call."  
  
Lori glared at them as if it was their fault and before she headed for the office, she said, "I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria."  
  
When she was far enough away, both Merton and Tommy let out their breaths and exchanged a look of shared doom.  
  
"We've got to get our stories straight," Merton said. "Otherwise, we will be in serious pain by the end of lunch."  
  
Tommy nodded, then looked around uncomfortably. There were too many people around for him to ask the question he really needed to ask. So he grabbed Merton by the shoulder and ignored the smaller boy's startled protests as he dragged him down a more deserted hallway and into the first empty classroom he saw.   
  
"The curse isn't gone," Tommy said without preamble.  
  
Merton sagged, and Tommy realized he was still holding Merton's shoulder. He let go immediately, face turning crimson for the fortieth time that day.  
  
"I know," the smaller boy said downheartedly. "I spent all night trying to find a way to cure us. No luck."  
  
"Shit."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Lori already suspects something, and if we so much as look at each other..." Tommy trailed off, his blush darkening. He didn't even want to admit to himself what catching Merton's eye did to him, much less say it aloud. He started again, asking desperately, "What are we going to do?"  
  
Merton shrugged miserably, looking up at Tommy and meeting his eyes squarely for the first time all morning. He had meant to begin speaking, but just then it seemed to sink in that they were alone and standing closer than was really necessary. He felt a blush creep up his face and he tried to take a step back, but his feet had forgotten which way that was because he ended up even closer to Tommy. The football player looked back down at him, blushing as well, but also looking like he was about to pounce.  
  
Merton opened his mouth to tell Tommy to back off for a second and think clearly because it was obvious that the curse was asserting itself again. Unfortunately, his mouth was also disobeying his orders; somehow his lips and Tommy's had met and -   
  
His thought process stopped right about there, which he would've worried about if he could've worry at that moment. Instead, he was just feeling how his and Tommy's lips ~fit~ together, how strong Tommy's arms were when one wrapped around his waist and the other around his shoulder. He didn't realize they were moving until he felt the wall against his back. He also didn't notice what his hands were doing until he felt smooth soft skin with taut muscle underneath.  
  
Tommy gasped at the hands under his shirt, breaking the kiss but not pulling away. Instead, he buried his face in the crook of Merton's neck and nibbled at the boy's pale throat, which elicited a low moan and a shudder from the goth. God, this was so wrong. Both of them knew what they were doing was exactly the opposite of what they ~should~ be doing, but the curse once ignited would not be quenched, heating their breaths and making their skin fiery to the touch. Such a hellishly exquisite burn. The only thing that could extinguish this fire was letting it burn its hottest -   
  
The bell rang.  
  
Merton and Tommy jerked apart, panting. For a long moment they stood staring, terrified of what they'd been doing, of what they'd almost done. Noise from the hall outside brought them down to earth rapidly.  
  
"Oh God," Tommy said, smoothing his clothes and fighting back a panic attack. The other boy was doing likewise, and neither knew how they were going to explain their absence to Lori, much less their red and kiss-swollen lips, mussed hair, and rumpled clothes. Merton looked considerably more upset than worried, though. In fact, Tommy couldn't remember the last time Merton had looked so... pained and angry.  
  
"We can't do this," he said harshly. "~I~ can't do this. We - we have to avoid each other, Tommy. If this is what happens when we're together ~now~, I don't want to know what we'd get up to when the curse gets worse."  
  
"But - " Tommy began to object, looking even more panicked than before.  
  
"I'll keep up my research. Don't come over, Tommy. I'll call you when I think I've got something," Merton said, once again not looking at his friend as he all but ran out of the room.  
  
Tommy stood there dazedly for a few moments. Everything was happening so fast that his curse-clouded brain was having trouble keeping up, but he understood one thing: his best friend was angry at him and didn't even want to see him around anymore. That hurt. A lot.   
  
But other students were now coming in and wondering why the most popular senior boy was in the sophomore advanced biology room. He shook himself enough to move out of the room, stop at his locker, and get to class. Merton was not there yet, so Tommy said down in his normal spot next to Lori, who glared daggers at him.  
  
"Where ~were~ you guys?" she demanded. "When you didn't show, a bunch of juniors sat down with me and tried to ask me out."  
  
"Sorry," Tommy said bitterly.  
  
Lori blanched at the unexpected tone. Then she saw a familiar spiky head of hair out of the corner of her eye. She looked up in time to see Merton sit down in the last chair of the farthest row away from Tommy. It was rather ironic that both boys had identical childishly sullen looks on their faces, but she knew better than to smirk at that observation.  
  
"What happened ~now~?" she asked, sounding exasperated. In the time that she'd known them, she'd never been less than amazed at the stupid reasons that Tommy and Merton fought. They probably liked the same girl again. That seemed to be a recurring theme, what with Lori herself and that Sloan chick. Guys were dumb when it came to stuff like that.  
  
"Never mind," Tommy said in a toneless voice. "It isn't important."  
  
Lori took a deep breath and reminded herself not to clobber him in the middle of class. "Obviously it is, or Merton wouldn't be sitting as far from us as is humanly possible."  
  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
  
That was supposed to be the end of it, but though Lori knew hints when she saw them, she rarely felt the urge to heed them. "Well, I do. You're not gonna get off the hook this time, Tommy. Tell me what's going on, maybe I can help set you two morons straight."  
  
She waited a few moments, but it became clear the Tommy was not going to be the one to spill the beans. She muttered an insult under her breath and settled back in her desk, trying to at least look like she was paying attention to the teacher's lecture on the French Revolution. She'd talk to Merton, then. He always cracked with a few quick threats.  
  
She'd get to the bottom of this and try and beat some sense into the two boys. They depended on one another too much to be fighting. After all, she'd never seen a more devoted pair of best friends, though at times they did a good job of hiding how much they really cared about each other. She sighed, shaking her head. She doubted she'd ever understand the idiocy of men.  
  
She caught up to Merton after school just as he reached his hearse. He gave her a dark look as she approached, but waited for her.  
  
"What's up with you and Tommy?" she asked bluntly. "What are you two fighting about ~this~ time?"  
  
Merton shrugged and tried to look like he didn't care. Lori glowered at him, but he managed not to cower as he usually did. He could ~not~ tell her the real reason, and he didn't want to lie because he was fairly certain Tommy would also eventually give in and tell Lori some story about why they were fighting. And he wasn't going to talk to Tommy to get their stories straight.  
  
"I think we just need to get out of each other's way for a while," he said, which was true enough in any case. "We've been hanging out too much lately, and we're getting on each other's nerves."  
  
The blonde looked skeptical. "You guys have hung out a lot all year. Why would you just be getting sick of each other now?"  
  
Merton rolled his eyes. "It's ~because~ we've been hanging out all year," he said in his 'You're being dense and I'm being too patient with you' voice. "We just need a break from each other for a few days, that's all."  
  
"Riiiiight," Lori said, crossing her arms. "Is this about a girl?"  
  
"No," Merton replied with a small impatient sigh. He shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I'm sorry Lori, but we've all got a ton of homework. I gotta go. I'll probably be at the Factory tomorrow night if you want to hang out or something."  
  
The girl sighed, but decided that this wasn't getting her anywhere. "Is that chick you met online going to be there?"  
  
"Well, she said she'd come tomorrow since it's a weekend and everything. Who knows if she'll make it," he said, opening the driver's side door. "Do you need a ride?"  
  
"Nah, my mom is going to pick me up for a doctor's appointment," Lori said. "That's what the phone call at lunch was about."  
  
Merton nodded absently and got in his car. Lori watched him driving away, her curiosity and frustration already gnawing at her. Well, she guessed that this was as much as she was going to learn until one or the other got over himself long enough to remember that the three of them were a team and apologized. Then maybe once all was forgiven she'd be able to wheedle whatever it was out of them. After all, wasn't she being a good sport by not resorting to dirty tactics to find out what she wanted to know?  
  
Of course, now that she thought of it...  
  
.  
  
TBC...  
  
Sorry for the short chapter! I have to study now... Feedback? Please? 


	3. Three

Sorry about the long delay, writer's block is a bitch. That, and other projects have been distracting me for the last month or so. ^^;; Heh heh. So anyway, enjoy the chapter. Possible OOC ahead, but I like the way it works for the plot. I've always thought that Lori was a practical sort of girl, so that's what I've made her.   
  
  
  
All disclaimers and warnings still apply.  
  
  
  
Merton's eyes ached from staring at his computer screen all night for the second night in a row. The early morning sun beat against the thick curtains on his window, filling the dusty Lair with dim gray light. He scrubbed at his face with both hands, and heaved a frustrated sigh. Still no luck in his search for a cure. He'd lurked in magical chat rooms and message boards all night, hoping that if he couldn't find the answers, someone else would tell him flat out what he needed to do. Unfortunately, very few online sorcerers had even heard of Eros' Revenge, and those who did simply told him he was doomed - sorry.  
  
In other words, he was not in a very good mood. He was just glad that he'd made Tommy promise to stay away. Having the other boy around would just complicate matters. It would make concentrating nearly impossible, for one thing...  
  
And too make everything more interesting, today the girl he'd met online was supposed to show up. She was from Clayborough, a town about two hours away. They'd found each other in *)GoTh ChAt(* and had hit it off rather well. As yet, she was sight unseen, but Merton decided not to be too picky. After all, she seemed to be his dream girl, personality wise, though it was hard to judge over the Internet. Text messages weren't the best way to get nuances across.  
  
Merton stood and stretched, feeling all the vertebrae in his spine crack and pop into some semblance of alignment. A quick look at the clock showed that he had plenty of time before when the girl would show up this afternoon. He'd take a nap and shower so he wouldn't frighten her off as soon as she saw him. He'd just collapsed on his bed when there was a knock on the door. He groaned unintelligently as the door opened, flipping over to see - who else? - Tommy standing by his desk, looking uncertain.  
  
"Uh, hey," Tommy said. "Did you find anything out?"  
  
"No," Merton snapped, displeased. Not only was Tommy depriving him of sleep, but Merton could feel his blood rushing faster already. How come he'd never noticed how... graceful Tommy was, how sinuous and sensuous he seemed. His skin was so unflawed tanned that it made Merton look sickly by comparison. And the jock's hair was disheveled still; obviously, he'd just gotten up. The overall effect was... disturbing.  
  
Merton swallowed nervously. "Look, I thought we agreed to stay away from each other. What are you doing here?"  
  
Tommy bit his lower lip. "Well, actually, _~I~_ never agreed to stay away. You just kinda _~told~_ me to stay away. And anyway, I wanted to know if there was anything new that I should know."  
  
"Well, there's not. So go away and let me sleep," Merton said, trying to sound cruel. If he pissed Tommy off enough, then maybe it would get him to leave.  
  
Tommy hesitated, his eyes lingering on Merton for a couple seconds too long. Merton felt his face heat, practically able to hear Tommy's thoughts - after all, they were probably thinking exactly the same thing anyway. Merton kept his eyes lowered, remembering what happened the ~last~ time their gazes had met. Of course, the very act of remembering was enough to make him flush deeper.  
  
"Look, Tommy, it's been a long night and I don't have time for -" he began, but broke off when Tommy was suddenly looming over him. Christ, Tommy was fast when he used his werewolf powers; Merton hadn't even seen him move. And a trace of fear ran up his back as he stared up at his friend, wondering if he would be able to get away if Tommy tried to... do anything.  
  
"I'm goin' crazy here, Merton," Tommy said, his voice low and frustrated. He ran his hands through his hair. "God, I don't know what's happening anymore. I mean, I know this whole curse is messed up and everything, but you're my _~best friend~_. When you told me to back off, it just goes to show that the curse _~is~_ ruining our friendship, and I don't want that. So I thought we should talk."  
  
Merton sighed. Tommy had a point, now that he thought about it. Maybe he'd been a bit hasty with his demand that they not see each other around until this whole thing blew over. Especially when it was starting to look like it _~wouldn't~_ blow over.  
  
"Look," he said slowly. "I don't want this to mess up our friendship either. But I don't know how wise of idea it is to be in the same room together, especially alone. I mean, look what we did at school yesterday. It's just dangerous and stupid. Plus if we keep doing stuff like that, it will _~definitely~_ ruin our friendship."  
  
"I know," Tommy said tiredly. He turned to sit on the edge of the bed, not facing Merton and putting his head in his hands. "That's the sucky part."  
  
Merton grunted an affirmative and tried to keep his eyes from wandering down Tommy's well-muscled back to the boy's rounded posterior. Yet another blush stained his cheeks and he averted his eyes to the ceiling. He would not check out Tommy. He would not give in to the very strong urge to jump up and pin him to the mattress.  
  
"So what should we do?" Tommy asked, sounding desolate.  
  
"I don't know. I'm too tired to think. I haven't slept in two days," Merton said, yawning yet again.  
  
"Sorry, man. You should get some rest, then," Tommy advised.  
  
There was a long pause as neither boy moved.  
  
"Um, Tommy - " Merton began awkwardly.  
  
"Please," Tommy cut in. Then in a voice barely above a whisper added, "Please. Just let me... stay here."  
  
Something in Merton twisted, pulled. His heart fluttered strangely. In a similar tone, he said, "All right."  
  
Merton rolled over to face the wall, and despite his worries and misgivings, he was asleep in minutes.  
  
  
  
Consciousness came back to Merton all too quickly. He woke to the sound of someone pounding on the door to the Lair, and he snapped his head up in a haze of confusion, glaring blearily at his alarm. It should have gone off an hour before his date showed up - but it was reading several hours before when he'd set it for. So that meant either his date was here early or -  
  
"Merton! I know you're in there! I want to talk to you!" Lori's muffled shout reached his ears.  
  
Okay, that explained that. But when he tried to leap out of bed, he noticed something else that he felt he really should have noticed sooner.  
  
Tommy was laying beside him. Well, wrapped around him would be a better description. Spooned, like. With an arm slung over Merton's hip. And he was still snoozing peacefully. An interesting mix of warm and fuzzy feelings and horrible dread filled him, and he panicked. He began trying to disentangle himself from Tommy, but unfortunately the other boy had different plans. With a sleepy noise of dissent, he tightened the arm around Merton's waist, and nuzzled Merton's shoulder, an undeniably cute frown crossing his features.  
  
"Oh shit," Merton muttered vaguely. Then he began desperately smacking Tommy on the head, shoulders, arms, anywhere he could reach. "Tommy, wake up!"  
  
"Ow ow ow," Tommy said, opening his eyes slowly. He focused on Merton and smiled. His arm drew the black-haired boy even closer. "Mornin' buddy."  
  
"Goddammit! Get off me! Lori's here," he said, unable to keep the slightly hysterical edge out of his voice.  
  
That seemed to penetrate Tommy's euphoric waking state, because his eyes widened and he looked down to see just what his limbs had done when he'd been unaware. With a strange high-pitched noise, Tommy jerked hurriedly away, only to fall unceremoniously on the floor. Relieved at his freedom, Merton leapt up and prodded Tommy with his socked feet.  
  
"Get under the bed! Quick!"  
  
Too startled to really argue, Tommy obediently scooted himself under the bed and Merton artfully pulled his covers down to hide the gap between the mattress and the floor. Just as he turned towards the door to go open it, it burst open and Lori stormed in. She looked pretty pissed, but with Lori this was not an uncommon occurrence. Merton did his best to look sleepily confused and not guilty at nearly being caught in a very compromising position with his best friend.  
  
"Merton," Lori began without preamble, "I can't find Tommy. And since I can't pester him about what's going on with you two, I thought you'd be the next best person to ask."  
  
Merton stared at her in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. That's _~all~_? You woke me up for _~that~_?"  
  
Lori gave him a look of doom and crossed her arms. "I happen to take this very seriously. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to put up with you both moping when you're mad at each other? Of course not, because it would require you two to think about something beyond the ends of your own problems, and no man is capable of such deep thought."  
  
Used to such rants against males in general, Merton yawned and stretched, walking stiffly over to his computer desk. "Like I said yesterday, it's nothing important. Tommy and I just need to have a break."  
  
"Yeah, right. You guys were perfectly fine until the other night when that "poltergeist" showed up," Lori said, doing the air quotes and everything. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
Underneath the bed, Tommy was tense as a wire. He did _~not~_ want Lori to know, but he also knew that Lori was way too sharp his and Merton's good. She'd bother the hell out of them until she would be able to piece together what had happened on her own. And when she found out... Well, assuming she didn't die of shock or laughing, she'd be pretty pissed that they hadn't just told her in the first place. Girls were weird about stuff like that.  
  
Tommy was tempted to just come out from under the bed and tell her exactly what was going on. After all, he though dismally, his chances of ever getting back together with her had never been very good. The only thing that gave him pause was what Merton was likely to do to him if he opened his big mouth.  
  
However, it was at this moment that Merton did something quite unexpected.  
  
"Well, if you want to know the truth, Tommy and I have fallen deeply in love with each other. We just don't want anyone to expect it, so we're going to act like we hate each other until the end of the year, and then we're going to elope," the Goth said in a nonchalant tone, sitting down in his computer chair.  
  
Tommy resisted a surprised swear word and let his forehead plop down against the dusty floor.  
  
There was a short pause on Lori's part. Then she said, "That is so stupid, Merton."  
  
"Oh, don't you believe me? Tommy's hiding right under the bed if you want to ask him."  
  
Lori was not known for being predictable, either. "I think I will."  
  
Both Tommy and Merton were heartily dismayed when she marched over to bed and lifted up the sheets, tipping upside-down to look at Tommy with a piercing blue gaze. She pursed her lips.  
  
"I see," she said slowly. "I think you guys have quite a bit of explaining to do."  
  
There was an extremely awkward moment as Tommy extracted himself and sat down on the edge of the bed. Both he and Merton looked very green indeed. Lori watched them both with a calculating expression on her face. She paced back and forth for a moment or two before she stopped and glared at them both.  
  
"Well?" she demanded. "How much of what was just said is true? When were you planning on letting ~me~ know? And what the hell are you doing going on a date with some internet floozy when you're supposedly eloping?"  
  
"I - uh - I kinda exaggerated a bit," Merton mumbled miserably, not looking at either of them. He fidgeted under Lori's gaze, but refused to say anything more. She turned her formidable look on Tommy, who was wretchedly trying to become invisible.  
  
"Um," he said intelligently. "We're not eloping."  
  
"Yeah," Merton agreed forcefully. "That's for damn sure."  
  
Lori's lips pressed into an even thinner line. "Well then. What are you doing?"  
  
Both boys sighed in unison. "We have no idea."  
  
"I think you'd better tell me exactly what happened the other night. The _~truth~_ this time," she said, leaning on the back of the couch.  
  
So, with extreme reluctance, they told her about Eros' Revenge and how it had occurred that they became its victims. Occasionally she had to prod and pry for them to admit certain things, but over all, she seemed to be taking it fairly well. She offered no condemnations or even repulsion. In fact, she'd had an actual giggling fit when they told her about their close call in school. When she could no longer squeeze the information out of them, she stood thoughtfully chewing her lower lip.  
  
"So," she began after a while. "Have you tried to get rid of it? I mean, from what you say, it sounds like it'd be pretty easy to stop this curse in its tracks if you caught it early enough. A quick little peck and poof! - no desire."  
  
"We - uh - tried that. Didn't work," Merton volunteered, face the color of a beet.  
  
Lori sighed. "Well, then, it seems like the only way out of the curse is to actually... you know."  
  
"We know," Tommy snapped, crossing his arms defensively.  
  
"So, why don't you?" she asked.  
  
Both boys choked and turned scarlet-faced glares on her. She blinked back unfazed.  
  
"Oh come on. It's the only way out, short of suicide, and you'll probably end up doing it eventually. That's how this curse works. If you get it over with now, there'll be a lot less time wasted on angst and re-evaluating your sexual preferences," she said bluntly. "It's just stupid to draw it out like this."  
  
"Easy for you to say," Merton bit out. "You don't actually have to - to - _~you know~_ - with your best friend."  
  
Lori shrugged. "If I was in your guys' position, I'd just get it over with. Quick and painless like, and then never think about it again."  
  
"Oh yeah? Well, what if it happened to you with another ~girl~?" Merton asked.  
  
"Doesn't matter. It's a curse, not a choice. Just get it over with and move on," she replied practically. Then she paused and blushed for the first time since she'd gotten there. "Well, I suppose it might take a bit more time for me to work up the nerve if it were another girl, but still. I'd get it over with as soon as possible."  
  
"Yeah right," Tommy muttered and received a cool glance in response. He returned the look adamantly. "Look, it's different for you. It's more okay for girls to... do it... with girls. It's all over the place. But for guys, it's a lot harder."  
  
Lori bristled. "The only reason lesbians are popular is because guys like to see sexy girls kissing each other on television. In real life, girls can be just as homophobic as guys, so don't make up sexist bullshit about how it's easier for lesbians to get away with it. And anyway, it hardly matters about society and stuff right now. No one knows about this but us three, and no one's telling anyone else."  
  
"It's bad enough that _~you~_ know," Tommy said darkly. She ignored him.  
  
"Think about it like this, then: The sooner you two get it on, the sooner you can get back to your regularly scheduled heterosexual lives," she told them in exasperation. She looked at her watch. "And if you hurry, you can get it over with before your date shows up, with time to shower afterwards."  
  
"Yeah, like you know how long sex takes," Merton snorted derisively. Surprisingly, Lori looked sheepish. Merton blinked. "Wait. You _~do~_ know?"  
  
Tommy sat up straight, staring at Lori with an open mouth. She had the decency to flush, but she glared back unapologetically.  
  
"Oh come on," she said. "You didn't actually think I was _~that~_ innocent. But if it makes you feel better, I've never went all the way myself. I just have friends who get around."  
  
"Right," Tommy said shortly, reining in his jealousy. Then he remembered that Lori was usually the virgin of choice for demon sacrifices in the area, and took comfort in the proof.  
  
"Anyway, I'm gonna go to the library and see if they have anything on this curse powder of yours. I'll leave you two to... talk things over," she said with not so subtle innuendo.  
  
After the door closed behind her, there was a heavy silence. The fact of the matter had been laid bare to them in very awkward but no uncertain terms. The only way they could possibly get their lives back was to totally give in to the temporary insanity and... consummate the desire.  
  
So it didn't really surprise either of them when Tommy hurriedly got up and muttered something about having to be back home for lunch before running out of the Lair. Merton didn't blame him. He felt the same desperate fear, the same petrifying feeling that they were doomed either way. He sighed in defeat, laying his head down on his desk. He should start getting ready for his guest soon, but for now he needed time to freak out in peace.  
  
  
  
TBC....  
  



	4. Four

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay, but I was having trouble with the OC. Sorry for the OC. I hate OCs in fanfiction in general with a very few exceptions. I tried to make this OC as un-Mary-Sue-ish as possible and still retain the basic purpose of her character, which is to provide competition for Tommy in Merton's affections. ^^;; Anyway. Just sorry.  
  
**Thanks To:** Northlight, who was eversospiffy to beta this for me. (Did I fix everything to your satisfaction, dearie?) ^____^ I *heart* Northlight, and you all should too.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
  
  
  
Ronni - who's chat name online was Veronica, Mistress of Vices - pulled up in front of the house and checked the address and description she'd printed off from one of her saved conversations with Lyrical Lycanthrope - who's real life name was M-something. Martin. Or something. She'd accidentally deleted the conversation in which he'd told her his real name. She flipped down the sunvisor and slid the protector back from the mirror there. She checked her carefully applied black eyeliner, and smoothed her dyed black-and-teal hair, her black-painted nails gleaming slightly in the sunlight.  
  
Her throat felt dry and her palms were sweaty. She'd never met any of her online friends before, and she was really hoping Lyric wasn't a total poser who'd just been pretending to be goth online. She hated people who did that. It was rather annoying when people who religiously listened to *Nsynch decided Slipknot was "just so kewl!1!11" But even if Lyric was a fat, pimply Dungeons and Dragons reject, Ronni would be stuck with him all afternoon and evening because her parents thought she was over at her friend Melissa(the Malignant)'s house, and that they were cramming for her history test. Her mom and dad would never approve of her meeting anyone over the internet, much less going two hours out of town to meet them. They'd be afraid of perverts pretending to be teenage boys to lure her into their diabolic clutches.  
  
She snorted and rolled her eyes as she got out of her car and locked the door. Stuff like that only happened to people on Dateline and 20/20. Besides, she could take care of herself; she had mace in the small black purse she carried. It was a tight fit, what with the inch-long metal spikes, but if she angled it just right it fit perfectly, along with her wallet and checkbook.  
  
Lyric lived in the basement, she recalled, and walked down the steps to the door. She knocked, and there was a muffled shout, "Just a second!"  
  
A moment later, the door opened inward to reveal a boy a few inches shorter than her with spiky hair. He was wearing a short-sleeved black button-up and baggy black rave pants with red stitching. He smiled at her, blue eyes crinkling at the corners in a very fetching way.  
  
"Veronica?" he asked.  
  
She smiled back, though she winced a little inwardly - he'd remembered her name, so she couldn't admit she didn't know his. Instead she said, "The very same."  
  
"Come on in! I cleaned the Lair for the special occasion," he said, standing back to let her into the house. She walked past him and immediately became six shades of envious. It was almost too perfect to be true. It was every goth's dream home. Candles everywhere, skulls on the endtables, ancient books and weapons lining the walls, black velvet draping the windows. Was that a rack in the corner? She resisted the urge to squeal and run her fingers over the nearest strange artifacts.  
  
"Wow," she said, eyes shining as she took everything in and wondered just how much this kid was worth. "I _~love~_ your room!"  
  
Lyric shut the door behind him and looked pleased. "Well, it took a while to get it perfect like this. You don't even want to know what horrible chores I had to do around the house to get the cash for all this."  
  
As he began to elaborate on said chores, Ronni turned to him with new respect. No poser, this one, and he was easy on the eyes, too. And she knew from their conversations that he was single. Zeus knew _~why~_, but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She wasn't here specifically to get a boyfriend, but if such a developement came up, she certainly would be the last one to object to it. Her only hope was that Lyric didn't hold true to the axiom, "The good ones are all gay or taken."   
  
"So, um, do you want to go grab something to eat before we go to the Factory?" he asked a little nervously, and Ronni realized she'd been staring. He blushed, looking anywhere but her. She felt her own face heat a little.  
  
"Sure, why not?" she said, smiling nervously. He returned it, and Ronnie felt her insides turn to goo. Yes, the night was definitely looking up.  
  
  
  
  
Tommy had been of absolutely no use that all that afternoon. When he got back from Merton's, very flustered indeed, he'd gone straight up to his room, flopped face down on his bed, and buried his head under his pillow. He let loose a tortured groan. This whole situation was getting out of control, and now Lori knew about it. He could not quite believe that his ex-girlfriend and hitherto main love interest knew that he was slowly going insane about Merton.  
  
And her advice was just as brash and direct as the girl herself, only much less attractive. Just give in and get it over with, huh? Showed what she knew. How could she even think that it would be a good idea if he and Merton just... had sex? It was such a weird concept to wrap his mind around, even though the past couple nights he'd been plagued by visions of them doing just that. And they'd only been worse since he'd really kissed Merton yesterday. He was just lucky that he hadn't been asleep long enough to start in on one of those dreams while he'd been in Merton's bed.  
  
Tommy groaned again, flipping onto his back and pulling the pillow away from his face. It was one thing to have dreams about that kind of stuff because he wasn't in control then, especially when there was magic mucking up the normal progression of his subconscious thoughts. So far, when he was awake he had more or less absolute power over his impulses. It came from learning how to control the wolf, from hours of practicing the art of soothing haiku in the Lair. But this curse must really be taking root now, if he couldn't even keep his thoughts from wandering to Merton every few minutes.  
  
He frowned firmly and became determined not to think of Merton. He wouldn't even think about the other boy's room, or the books there, even though Merton always smelled slightly musty like them. Of course, there was enough other smells mixed into Merton's that it wasn't an unpleasant mustiness. Tommy would know the combination of hair gel - very occasionally aftershave - and Merton's own unique body scent anywhere. It was almost as familiar as his own scent, but more comforting. When he looked at it that way, it wasn't really all that surprising how he'd ended up curled around Merton, face buried in Merton's mop of mussed spikes.  
  
With a frustrated grunt, Tommy realized that he wasn't succeeding with the no-thinky-about-Merton tactic. Why was he suddenly so focused on smell, anyway? Sure, wolfy senses were sharper than normal humans, but it was probably a bad thing to get a strange fetish like that. He had to get Merton out of his head. He breathed in deeply to dispel the sensory memory, but he could still smell Merton. The other boy's scent clung to his clothes, even to his skin. It wasn't helping Tommy at all. In fact, it was having the exact opposite effect, and Tommy was starting to get a bit... uncomfortable.  
  
He got up and grabbed his towel off the back of his desk chair. He should shower and get some different clothes on. It would help him feel more normal, he was certain. It always worked after full moons that got particularly weird. Like that time he and Merton had gotten slimed by some really oozy demon and they'd gone back to the Lair to clean up. Merton had claimed the shower first, and he remembered shoving past the smaller boy after he'd gotten out. Merton was wet and dripping, and only wearing a towel -  
  
Shower. Now.  
  
Once in the bathroom with the door safely locked, he stripped quickly and jumped into the stall before the water could adjust to something less hypothermia-inducing. As the lukewarm water washed over him, he growled softly to himself. This was all because he'd been stupid enough to take a nap in Merton's bed. With Merton still in it, no less. That's where this overpowering Merton scent came from. He should never have laid down with Merton except it had seemed harmless at the time. Probably part of the curse's mind tricks. Another of said tricks was that he'd woken up with Merton and. Enjoyed. It.  
  
Perhaps even that was a bit less than truthful. Before he'd come back to himself fully, he'd been drifting in a haze of contentedness that verged on bliss, basking in the warmth that enveloped him, knowing he was with Merton but not grasping the full extent of what that meant. He'd thought - and it must surely have been the enchantment taking advantage of his easily suggestible state - of just closing the gap between his mouth and Merton's nape in a lazy, almost familiar way and moving down to that patch of skin at the joint of shoulder and neck. Sucking kisses, maybe soft nips of teeth as well. Things that would leave a mark. Merton would have shivered, he bet, because he had learned Merton had a very sensitive neck a few vampire attacks ago. And God, the feel of their bodies entwined like that was just so good. Merton's slimmer form fit against his like they were tailor made. It would have been so easy to slide his hands under the goth's shirt and touch that warm pale skin, which in his mind was soft as silk -  
  
The water by now had warmed to a respectable temperature, and thus it was no surprise that Tommy's libido was unquenched. His hand moved of its own accord to his groin, where an urgent ache was building. He gasped sharply, leaning against the side of the shower as he stroked himself, enthralled with his fantasy of Merton. It was Merton's scent, Merton's skin, Merton's hand... Merton's mouth...  
  
There was a burst of light behind Tommy's closed eyes, and his knees gave out. He slid down the wall, letting the water course over him and wash away the evidence. After he caught his breath, the knowledge of what he'd just done caught up with him. A wave of mortified chagrin coursed through him, and he curled into himself, resting his head on his forearms which in turn were folded across his knees. He couldn't do this anymore.

  
  
  
  
Merton blinked as Ronni leaned up against him as they entered the Factory. The girl's arm slid through one of his, and he couldn't help the dopey grin that pasted itself on his face. She liked him, she really liked him! It was enough to make him wonder if she wasn't a monster trying to either get close to the Pleasantville Werewolf or suck the life force from desperate teenage boys. He wouldn't put it past his luck to hook up with yet another non-human bent on world destruction/domination. But so far there was no evidence of otherworldliness about Ronni, not even a sudden flare of light in her eyes - which were a completely normal hazel color, no strange unearthly tones there, thank-you-very-much. She seemed to be just an average gothic high school student. Of course, in Pleasantville being goth was about on par with being a demon from the netherworld, but as such they were ostracized together.  
  
"So, you wanna dance?" Ronni asked as they pushed through the crowd, her voice raised to be heard over the loud music.  
  
"Sure," Merton said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. His inner monologue was at once gibbering with glee, examining the situation suspiciously, and then there was a tiny sharp stab of guilt. As he let Ronni take his hands and pull him onto the dance floor, he resisted frowning.  
  
Guilt? What did he have to be guilty about? He was finally getting to dance with someone who was a part of his chosen social level, and she was fun and sexy, and seemed to like him too. It was his dream come true. When she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her a little closer. She was very warm - but, a part of his mind sneered slightly, not as warm as Tommy. No, not going to think about that. He was on a date; there was no place for Tommy in his head. He was going to concentrate on the soft fleshiness of Veronica's hips (Tommy's hips were slim, almost boney) under his hands, the wafting of her perfume (Tommy's aftershave was sharper and more distinct) through the air, the sheer thrill of (waking up with Tommy behind him, draped over him, his breath tickling Merton's neck and almost inciting shivers) dancing with a girl who probably wasn't going to kill him at the drop of a hat.  
  
Then he did frown and silently cursed the power Eros's Revenge had over him, undermining his best attempts to keep Tommy from his thoughts. The magic was even making him feel as if he was unfaithful by being here with this girl instead of - of doing stuff with Tommy. It wasn't fair, he reflected petulantly. Finally life had been looking up for him, and then this impossible situation just had to come along and throw a wrench into all of Merton's best laid plans. He was supposed to be enjoying his date with Ronni, not trying to avoid blinking because the first face that popped up behind his eyelids was Tommy's.  
  
A slow song came on, and Merton made to retreat back to the bar to regroup. Ronni, however, latched onto his arm and tugged, a smile caught somewhere between shy and playful on her lips. She pulled him close, her arms going around his waist, breasts pressed against his chest. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, hands meeting at the small of her back. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. Merton'd never slow danced before. He didn't know quite what else to do, or to say, if in fact conversation was needed now that the song was quieter than bone-rattling.  
  
He sighed as well, and wondered vaguely how soon he could end this date without being rude. He definitely wanted a redo, though, once this pesky spell was sorted out. Ronnie was a nice girl - well, perhaps 'nice' wasn't a word a goth girl would appreciate being called - and he wanted to see her again when he wasn't busy unwillingly mooning over Tommy. Speaking of whom, he'd have to call the jock later tonight to see if they could get things straightened out. He winced at his unintentional pun.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Did I step on your foot?" Ronnie murmured, lifting her face to his.  
  
"Ah, no, I just - " Merton had an inspiration, " - saw the clock over there. It's already ten."  
  
She looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What? Do you have that early a curfew?"  
  
Merton shook his head, a small wry smile playing across his lips. "I don't have a curfew, and even if I did it's not like my parents try very hard to keep tabs on me. I was just thinking that you're probably going home soon. I mean, it's two-hour drive back to your house."  
  
"Oh yeah," she said, chagrinned. "I guess I just haven't been paying attention to the time."  
  
"Well, it does that whole flying when you're having fun thing," he said and wanted to bite his tongue, feeling like such a geek. He waited for the inevitable derisive comment and/or awkward silence to settle in.  
  
But Ronnie laughed and he felt immensely relieved. "That it does, my friend, that it does."  
  
The song ended and another fast dance started playing. Merton and Ronnie left, his arm around her shoulders, and when they got back to the hearse, Ronnie sighed and snuggled closer on the seat as he drove.  
  
"I don't want to go back. You've been so much fun," she said quietly when they pulled into his driveway. "You were exactly how you are online, really witty and cool."  
  
Merton's face flushed and he turned the car off. "I - um. Th-thanks." He turned towards her, and she was making no move to get out of the car. He blushed harder. "I think y-you're cool too, you know. And - "  
  
He broke off when she leaned forward quickly, as if she was startled by her own bravado, her lips meeting his firmly but inexperiencedly. Merton was so caught unawares that he almost forgot to kiss back. But when he did, he felt rather sick at heart. There was absolutely nothing there. No spark, no heat, no desire. It was mechanical, a stage kiss. Much to his annoyance, he couldn't stop his mind from noting that she wasn't as good a kisser as Tommy. She tasted like her slick lipstick, which was dark and would leave smears everywhere. Disappointed, he pulled away.  
  
"Wow," Ronnie said, eyes still closed and not noticing the look that passed over Merton's face. "I've been wanting to do that all night."  
  
He realized that he should probably say something. "M-me too." Which wasn't exactly a lie, because had he been anything resembling his normal self he would have leapt at this chance. "You have got to come back again."  
  
She smiled, opening her eyes and she turned away to correct her make-up in the rear-view mirror. "Wild orcs couldn't keep me away. We'll talk about it online, okay? Because I don't know my work schedule for next week yet, but I think I can get the weekend off again. My coworkers all owe me favors."  
  
"Great," he said as they got out of the car. "So we'll plan something?"  
  
"Right. G'night, I had a wonderful time," she called over her shoulder as she crossed the street and got into her car. Merton stood and waved as she drove off. When she was gone, he felt peculiarly empty and a strange mix of anticipation and dread filled him when he realized that he had to call Tommy and tell him to come over. So they could get rid of the curse. He gulped sweet night air, wiping his suddenly sweaty - for first time all night - hands on his pants, steeling himself as he turned to go in. He was brought up short, however, by what he saw.  
  
Tommy was sitting on the top of the stairs, back to him and half-hidden in shadow. From the looks of it, he had been sitting there for some time. He could have even seen Ronnie and Merton kiss. There was a strange falling sensation in the pit of Merton's stomach when he thought of that, and then he frowned fiercely. Who the hell cared if Tommy saw? Merton sure didn't. He shoved the guilt away; it wasn't his, it was because of the curse.  
  
"What are you doing here, Tommy?" he asked, stepping forward.  
  
Tommy shifted, seeming to hunch down lower into himself. "I think we need to talk. About. Well, you know."  
  
Merton knew. "Well, we should go inside then. Come on." Carefully staying as far from Tommy as possible, he passed him and started down the stairs into the Lair.  
  
  


**  
TBC**

  
  
  
The next part will indeed be smut. However, seeing as how it will be my first attempt at it, the next chapter may take a while. Also, it won't be put on FF.net, but I'll put up a link to it when I have the chapter after the smut done. ^_^;; Sorry for the long wait and all.  



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